Device for forming and slicing butter and the like



Patented July 13, 1943 DEVICE FOR FORMING AND SLICING BUTTER AND THE LIKE Charles L. Hayman and William M. Fountain, Oakland, Calif.

Application December 27, 1940, Serial No. 371,864

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in a device for forming and slicing butter and the like, and it consists of the combinations, con-- structions, and arrangements hereinafter described and claimed.

An object of our invention is to provide a device for forming and slicing butter and the like in which a desired quantity of butter or other plastic material is forced through a forming die and then severed from the remaining body. The means for severing the extruded material is designed to function when moved in either one of two directions.

A further object of our invention is to provide a device of the type described which makes use of interchangeable dies securable to the casing containing the plastic material, whereby the configuration of the material forced through the die may be changed according to the design of the die. Novel mean is also provided for securing the die to all sides of the casing at points adjacent to the open end of the casing, this means permitting the die to be quickly moved into sealing engagement with the casing end or be removed therefrom. A plunger or pusher is slidably disposed within the casing and is moved by a hand screw for forcing the material through the die. The plunger can be moved into abutting relationship with respect to the die and therefore substantially all of the material can be forced through the die. The device is preferably clamped to a supporting surface.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application, in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section taken along the lin I--I of Figure 3;

Figure 2 is a transverse section taken substantially along the line II-II of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken along the line IIIIII of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is an isometric view of a die shown in full size.

While we have shown only the preferred form of our invention, it should be understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In carrying out our invention, we provide a casing A that is formed from a single piece of sheet metal. tion and the sheet of metal is so bent that its ends form a longitudinal groove I in the casing bottom wall 2. The side walls 3 and 4 are nonpervious and so is likewise the top wall 5 of the casing. The casing A is open at both ends and The casing is square in cross-secis designed to receive a standard one-fourth pound cube of butter. Although we show a casing which is square in cross-section, we do not wish to be confined to this particular shape because it is obvious that casings of other shapes may function just as well.

Before describing the construction of a forming die B and the construction of the material cutting mechanism indicated generally at C, we will first set forth the structural features of the clamping means D for the casing, and then the means for forcin the plastic material in the casing through the die, this means being indicated generally at E. The clamping means D consists of a bracket 6 that extends downwardly from the bottom wall 2 of the casing and may form an integral part of the sheet of metal forming the casing if desired. The bracket 6 has an end 6a that is bent at right angles to the main portion of the bracket and this end underlies a supporting member F, such as a table top or board. An interiorly threaded boss I is carried by the end Ba and receives a clamping screw 8. The screw carries a jaw 9 at its upper end and this jaw is forced into engagement with the under-surface of the supporting member F when a handle Ill on the screw is rotated for advancing the screw in the boss. Casing supporting legs II and I2 are secured to the casing A and rest upon the upper surface of the member F. The member F is therefore clamped between the legs and the jaw and in this way the casing is securely clamped to the supporting member.

At the forward end of the casing A, the bottom wall 2 is bent to form a transverse groove I3, this groove being wide enough to receive the lower end of the die B. Openings I4 communicate with the groove and receive lugs I5 formed integral with the die B. A platform I6 extends forwardly from the groove and this platform has a downwardly inclined portion Ilia which terminates in a downwardly curved front Ifib. The leg II depends from the platform I6.

The mechanism E for moving the plastic material through the casing A and for forcing it through the die B comprises a threaded shank I1 which is mounted below the bottom wall 2 and extends parallel with the slot I. The front end of the shank I! is reduced in diameter at I8 and the reduced portion is received in a bearing I9 formed integral with the front leg I I. A butterfly nut 29 is screwed upon the outer threaded end 2| of the reduced portion I8 and the threads on this portion extend in an opposite direction to the thread Ila on the shank I]. The purpose of this opposite threading is to keep the butterfly nut 20 tight upon the portion I8 during the rotation of the shank IT. A washer 22 is placed between the shank I1 and the bearing I9.

The shank I I when rotated, moves a plunger or pusher 23 of the shape shown in Figures 1 and 3. The pusher 23 extends transversely across the interior of the casing and completely fills it. An arm 24 is integral with the plate 23 and extends through the slot I and has a threaded bearing 25 disposed at its lower end for receiving the shank H. A rotation of the shank will move the bearing and the plate or pusher 23 in the casing A. A crank arm 26 is mounted at the rear end of the shank l1 and is used for rotating the shank.

The die B is shown in full size in Figure l. The die has sides 21 and 28 designed to straddle the sides 3 and 4 respectively of the casing A. The sides 21 and 28 have recesses 29 and 30 for receiving pins 3| and 32 carried by the side walls of the casing, see Figure 3. At the top of the die a pin 33 is mounted and this pin is receivable in a recess 34 formed in an upturned portion 35 that is integral with the top wall of the casing A. In Figures 1 and 2, we show the die with an opening 36 that has a scalloped edge while in Figure 4 we show a similar die with a diamond'shaped opening 31, It is obvious that the die openings may be of any desired shape.

The die is moved into sealing engagement with the entrance end 38 of the casing by merely first aligning the plane of the die with the plane of the opening 38 and then moving the die downwardly so that its lower edge is received in the groove I3 and the projections I5 are received in the openings [4. During this movement the pins 3| and 32 will be received in the recesses 29 and 30 and the pin 33 will be received in the recess 34. It will be noted from this construction that the die is secured to all four sides of the casing by a separate fastening means on each side. In this way the die is maintained in sealed relation and yet it may be quickly removed by merely moving the die upwardly with respect to the platform 16.

The cutter mechanism C comprises a wire carrying frame formed from a single rod 39 bent in a particular manner. The rod is journaled in a U-shaped support 40, see Figure 3, secured to one side of the casing, and a sleeve 4! is mounted on the rod and has its ends bearing against the adjacent ends of the support. A screw 42 connects the sleeve to the rod and therefore the sleeve will prevent longitudinal movement of the rod in the support. Figure 2 illustrates the rod as being bent upwardly at 33a, thence horizontally at 39b, thence downwardly at an angle at 39c, and finally outwardly at 39d to form a handle. A cutting wire for severing the plastic material has its ends secured to the rod 39 at 43a and 4322-. This wire moves across the front face of the die and severs any plastic material extruded through the die.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood.

The device is clamped to the support F in the manner already explained, and then the plunger 23 is moved to the rear of the casing A. The die B is disconnected from the casing A, and then the plastic material, such as a cube of butter, is placed in the casing from the end 33. The die is now moved back into position to cover the casing end 38, and, as already stated, the die may have any desired type of opening 33 or 3? therein. The crank 26 is now manually rotated and will move the plastic material against the die. The material will be compressed in the casing and forced through the die opening so as to take the same shape as the opening. The plastic material will be caused to flow through the die opening. As much material as desired may be moved through the opening before the cutter C is actuated to sever the protruding portion. The manual swinging of the cutter will carry the wire through the material and will sever it. The severed portion will drop upon the platform 16 and may be removed before the next cut is made. It is obvious that the fine wire 43 will cut through the plastic material whether the handle39 is moved in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction when looking at Figure 2. The pieces cut from the material will vary in thickness according to the amount of rotation imparted to the shank I'I between each cut.

We have found from actual experience that the plastic material will flow through the large die opening 36 or 31 before it will be forced through the slot The lugs l5, side pins 3| and 32, andtop pin 33 secure the die B at all sides of the casing and cause the die to make a seal-tight closure with the casing. The device is simple in construction and is durable and efiicient for the purpose intended. It is possible to readily clean any butter adhering to the casing or other parts by merely causing hot water to flow over the parts. Although we have illustrated the casing as being formed from sheet metal, it is obvious that it could be formed from plastic or any other kind of material.

We claim:

1. In a device of the type described, a casing having an open front end and a platform projecting in front of the casing, said platform having a die-receiving groove therein with lug-receiving openings, a die for extending across the casing front and having its lower edge receivable in the groove, lugs integral with the die and removably 1 receivable in the openings, and cooperating means carried by the die and casing for removably securing the die to the casing when the lower edge of the die is received in the groove and the lugs are received in the openings, said means allowing the free removal of the die from the casing when the die is moved away from the platform.

2. In a device of the type described; a casing for receiving a plastic material and having an open front end; a platform arranged adjacent to the front end and having openings, and a material-shaping die designed to extend across the front end and to be moved toward the platform when securing the die in place and away from the platform when removing the die from the casing; said die having lugs receivable in the openings and hooks on the sides of the die, said casing having projections engaged by the hooks when the die is moved parallel with the open casing front and toward the platform for moving the lugs into the openings; and a headed projection carried by the top of the die; said casing having a recess for receiving the reduced portion of the projection when the die is moved into a position for covering the front end of the casing, the head engaging with the rim of the recess for holding the top of the die in position CHARLES L. HAYMAN. WILLIAM M. FOUNTAIN. 

